Hydrogen sulfide is a by-product in many manufacturing processes. It is produced in processes for refining sulfur-containing petroleum fractions and processes for preparing carbon disulfide by reaction of hydrocarbons and sulfur. In the commercial processes, hydrogen sulfide is a by-product and it is the usual practice to recover the sulfur values from the gas stream by the Claus process or to utilize the hydrogen sulfide in the preparation of sulfuric acid.
In certain industrial processes, hydrogen sulfide is required. It has been known that hydrogen sulfide can be readily prepared by the reaction of hydrogen and sulfur as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,214,859. In order to make the process commercially feasible, a source of inexpensive hydrogen must be available.
Recently, hydrogen sulfide has taken on a new significance. Hydrogen sulfide has become a valuable industrial material in view of the emphasis placed on processes for removing sulfur dioxide from industrial gaseous effluent streams. One particular advantageous process involves absorbing sulfur dioxide from the effluent in an absorbent and reacting the sulfur dioxide rich absorbent with hydrogen sulfide to form sulfur. The reaction requires two moles of hydrogen sulfide for each mole of sulfur dioxide recovered from the effluent stream.
At locations where it is desirable to abate sulfur dioxide in gaseous emissions, a source of hydrogen sulfide is not always conveniently available.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a process for preparing hydrogen sulfide. It is an object of the present invention to provide a process for preparing hydrogen sulfide from carbonaceous materials which can be utilized to form carbon monoxide. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process for preparing hydrogen sulfide from gas streams containing carbon monoxide and in addition utilizing any hydrogen present to form additional hydrogen sulfide. An additional object of the invention is to provide a process for preparing hydrogen sulfide from carbon sources such as coal or oil which can be accomplished with low capital and operating costs.